Early-warning sign you’re about to get murdered: a mysterious, cursed ledger directs you to a small, eerie town filled with an unusual amount of amputees who all take a keen interest in you. That’s what the cursed Joe and his sister Annie are up against when their ledger leads them to a town where strangers check in, but they don’t check out.

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for reviewThis post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for reviewThis post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for reviewThis post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for reviewThis post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for reviewThis post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for reviewThis post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

There is a secret history to the DC Universe of heroes who have protected humanity from the shadows since the dawn of time…and who can live forever. Enter the Immortal Men! The team, headed by the Immortal Man, has waged a secret war against the House of Conquest for countless years-but Conquest has dealt a devastating blow. When their base of operations, known as the Campus, is savagely attacked, the Immortal Men must seek out their last hope-an emerging metahuman known as Caden Park! Caden’s emerging powers may be able to ensure the Immortal Men’s survival-but will Conquest get to him first?

Jim Lee, Ryan Benjamin, and James Tynion IV have come together like Voltron for this new series which is… interesting. DC Comics’ “New Age of Heroes” promised to introduce us to the next generation of heroes giving us all new stories and new directions. The Immortal Men #1 does that to a certain extent but what’s present feels like it is a new volume of a series that has a long history and continuity. That’s both good and bad.

Having recently reread Marvel’s Eternals, I can’t help but compare the two as the concepts presented feel similar and Neil Gaiman’s take, out in trade today, presents a much more straightforward story to this first issue. Both feature a character that doesn’t know their real history/potential. Both feature beings that have shaped history. Both feature characters that for the most part immortal. This first issue even plays with “the truth” coming through dreams.

This difference between the two is the execution where Eternals feels like you’re discovering this reality along with the characters, The Immortal Men #1 feels like you’re dropped into a story arc already in progress. It explains some things but it’s not clear enough. That’s in stark contrast to the other series such as Damage, Sideways, and Curse of Brimstone which are much easier to dive in to. While those three series were fresh origin stories, this debut is more in line with The Terrifics where you might need some knowledge to truly enjoy it.

While I was a bit mixed on the story, the art is a different story. Like the story itself there’s a long list of those contributors including Benjamin and Lee, Scott Williams and Richard Friend on inks, Jeremiah Skipper and Alex Sinclair on color, and Carlos M. Mangual on lettering. There’s some great visuals though. The art is fantastic with really interesting settings and the characters look fantastic. The use of a dream state opens things up to give us some impressive visuals that’ll have you lingering to decipher it all.

Much like Caden Park, we’re thrown into things and hoping for something greater. I couldn’t help walking away feeling a bit disappointed, especially due to the fact all of the other releases for the “New Age of Heroes” have been so good. I can see what the creative team was going for, I’m just not convinced they pulled it off in one issue. As a trade, or a graphic novel, this would have read much better but as a single issue it falls a bit short in execution.

“THE END OF FOREVER” part one! There is a secret history to the DC Universe of heroes who have protected humanity from the shadows since the dawn of time…and who can live forever. Enter the Immortal Men! The team, headed by the Immortal Man, has waged a secret war against the House of Conquest for countless years-but Conquest has dealt a devastating blow. When their base of operations, known as the Campus, is savagely attacked, the Immortal Men must seek out their last hope-an emerging metahuman known as Caden Park! Caden’s emerging powers may be able to ensure the Immortal Men’s survival-but will Conquest get to him first?

Joe Chamberlain would do anything to save his small, forgotten town-even make a deal with the devil. But things get worse, and Joe finds himself cursed with the power of Brimstone. With the power of fire and destruction coursing through his hands, Joe must now track down and destroy the demon he made his deal with before the power he now wields destroys the town he was trying to save. But as the fiery pain inside him grows, can this young man overcome his own demons before his power rips him apart from the inside out?

The Curse of Brimstone is the latest entry into DC Comics’ “New Age of Heroes” which introduces us to new characters, new settings, and hopefully new ideas. Justin Jordan and Philip Tan are the team behind this series whose first issue is a solid set up.

In particular, the issue takes us to small town America, something we don’t see too often in comics beyond Smallville. This is the part of America left behind where factories have closed and the people struggle to make ends meat. The simplest tasks seem huge and in a world where people can fly, it’s an interesting concept that these places are forgotten. With wonders like Metropolis and Superman, what does it say for dying towns with no future? That seems to be at the heart of this series and it’s a concept that’s not explored enough in comics which makes this one stand out.

The art by Tan, colors by Rain Beredo, and lettering by Wes Abbott adds to the sense of desperation and lost. It’s one thing to tell the story in words but visually you need to see it as well and the creative team have nailed it down.

What’s presented in both story and look is small town America not many of us experience. These are the towns I see driving between DC and New York. You wonder how they function and why the people are still there and this series takes us into that in a ways. With that, we get a fresh voice and perspective to comics and one that’s hopefully explored more as the series continues.

Graphic Policy believes in journalistic integrity and transparency. We will disclose when a product has been given for free for review and/or when no cost has been incurred to the staff so that you may be able to make a fully informed decision as to the opinions provided.

When a product has been provided for free you will see disclosure at the bottom of the article. When such a disclosure does not exist, you can assume that the items have been purchased for review.

- The Management

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